United Nations aid convoys began rolling in Syria again on Thursday, three days after the United Nations suspended all humanitarian convoys following the deadly attack. Officials later said the convoy had arrived in the afternoon, after lengthy delays but without incident.
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Elizabeth Hoff, the World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Syria, told Reuters on Wednesday that the United Nations health agency planned to deliver medical supplies today to the rebel-held besieged Damascus suburb of Moadamiya, subject to the normal security risk assessments.
Mr Assad also said deadly U.S. air strikes on Syrian troops last week were intentional, dismissing American officials’ statements that they were an accident.
“We need a reboot, a restart for security assurances, and guarantees for the humanitarian lifeline”, Egeland said.
Assad said US strikes, which killed 62 Syrian government troops in Deir ez-Zor on September 17, were “intentional” and they lasted for an hour.
The initial targets were the Amiriyah, Sukari and Sheikh Said sectors, to the south, said the monitoring group’s head, Rami Abdel Rahman.
Kerry’s proposal to halt all flights was met with disagreement both in Moscow and even in Washington. Some reports put the death toll as high as 45.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad indicated he saw no quick end to the war, telling the Associated Press it would “drag on” as long as it is part of a global conflict in which terrorists are backed by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and the United States.
The latest raids came after the Syrian army announced its offensive late on Thursday.
PRESIDENT BASHAR AL-ASSAD, Syria (through translator): We announced that we are ready to be committed to any halt of operations, or if you want to call it, cease-fire, but it’s not about Syria or Russian Federation.
“The devastating sustained attack at our convoy at Big Urem outside Aleppo this Monday is the worst attack ever sustained on a cross-line, cross-border convoy”, Egeland said on Thursday.
In statements that Gentiloni made and that were broadcasted by Italian state TV after a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in NY yesterday, he explained that he mentioned “to Lavrov that Italy was among the few countries that thought from the beginning that Russia’s presence in the Syrian crisis would potentially have positive repercussions, especially given the influence that Moscow can wield on Assad”.
Secretary of State John Kerry, reacting to the attack on the aid convoy, called Wednesday for the immediate grounding of all military aircraft in areas where aid is delivered, but without any immediate result. -Russia brokered truce expired, according to the state news agency SANA.
The United States and rebel groups trying to topple Assad must lay down their arms, he added. They reported 60 airstrikes in east Aleppo, the location of rebel-held neighborhoods in the divided northern city.
Syrian state media quoted army officials as urging civilians in eastern parts of the city to avoid areas where “terrorists” were operating.
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At one point during the AP interview, Assad denied restricting access for aid convoys to besieged cities.
